# NTSB LAX94LA108: Piper PA-28-235, N8760W, Lovelock, NV, January 29, 1994 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 29, 1994, 12:46 local (20:46 UTC) - Place: Lovelock, NV - Coordinates: 40.31974, -118.20034 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3197&lon=-118.2003&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 14, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 28648 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX94LA108 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/28648/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX94LA108 ## Probable cause THAT THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL DURING THE FLARE. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - landing gear,nose gear - collapsed - landing gear,nose gear - overload ## Analysis THE PILOT WAS COMPLETING A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES PERSONAL FLIGHT. WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE STALLED WHEN THE PILOT FLARED AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED A HARD LANDING. THE NOSE WHEEL COLLAPSED ON TOUCHDOWN AND THE AIRPLANE SKIDDED OFF THE RUNWAY. ## Factual narrative On January 29, 1994, at 1246 hours Pacific standard time, a Piper PA-28-235, N8760W, landed hard, collapsed the nose gear, and nosed down while landing on runway 01 at Derby Field, Lovelock, Nevada. The pilot was completing a visual flight rules personal flight. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. Neither the certificated private pilot nor his passenger was injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Reno-Stead Airport, Reno, Nevada, at 1215 hours. Mr. Hugh "Jack" Roche, Principal Maintenance Inspector, Federal Aviation Administration, Reno Flight Standards District Office, conducted the on scene investigation. Inspector Roche said the pilot reported that he "stalled" the airplane during the landing. The airplane struck the runway about 75 feet south of the threshold. The airplane's nose wheel collapsed and the airplane skidded off the left side of the runway and came to rest, nose down, about 600 feet north/northwest of the runway's edge. The pilot submitted a Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2 to the Southwest Regional Office. In the report the pilot said that the airplane sustained "...a hard landing for an unknown reason...." He also said the airplane touched down about 500 feet beyond the threshold. In a written statement to the Pershing County Sheriff's Department, Lovelock, Nevada, the pilot said, in part, "...our plane slowed too far and stalled in. It hit the runway fairly hard and caromed off the left side, where it nosed up [down]." The passenger, the pilot's son, also submitted a written statement to the Sheriff's deputy. He confirmed the pilot's statement about slowing too far and said the airplane landed "askew." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8760W](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8760W), registered now, S/N 28-10300, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-235 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (registry code 7102810) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-10300 - Airframe hours: 2359 - Engines: LYCOMING O-540-B4B5 235 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Barnes, James I. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 1, 1993, 64 hours before - Departed: 4SD, RENO, NV - Destination: LOL - Airport: LOL, Derby Field, runway 1, 5,486 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 2,005 total, 1,960 in this make and model, 1,965 as pilot in command, 7 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 50 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19940129001199A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940129001199A), Jan 29, 1994: Piper PA28235, Lovelock, NV, Substantial damage. Leveled off too high and stalled. Dropped to runway. Hard impact. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.